Lil Squeaky

Squeakarius McBride, known professionally as Lil Squeaky, is a Finnish-American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, politician, stripper, and pottery artist. He initially gained notoriety for his extensive discography on his original SoundCloud account, before signing to Flex Entertainment. He is best known for singles such as "MANNY", "Oolin", "Menace," "Menace 2," and the song "Nipples," which peaked at number seven on the Flex Entertainment Hot 100.

He became an executive in the label on September 24, 2020. He is the older brother of former Flex Entertainment artist .jitters. His music contains a wide variety of production styles and vocal deliveries, with most of his music containing elements of cloud rap and trap rap, and at times experimented with pop, rock, EDM, and R&B.

He stepped down from his position of Flex Entertainment executive on February 23, 2021. He left Flex Entertainment on April 22, 2021. After leaving, he began to incorporate more of an "underground" sound and aesthetic to his music. He signed back to Flex Entertainment in January 2022.

Early Life
Lil Squeaky was born on December 16, 2002, in Helsinki, Finland, as the second child of four. His mother is from Bangladesh, and was adopted by a wealthy Finnish couple at the age of seven. His father is a pure-blooded Finnish man. Squeaky grew up in various parts of Northern Virginia, where he recorded the majority of his discography.

Career
Lil Squeaky released his first single, “Fake Lil Squeaky,” in May 2018, a diss track towards fellow Virginia rapper Lil Crisp. He released several more singles in late spring and early summer 2018 on SoundCloud, and gained a following over the summer. He released his debut mixtape Squeakerton, The Chronicle on September 21, 2018. Just a few weeks later in October he released the EP Jews in the Ghetto, vol. 1. Then on November 3, 2018, he released the mixtape Deadass: Ricky’s Last Stand. The song “MANNY” from this mixtape became popular nearly two years later in July 2020 after being posted on the Reddit page Cringetopia. Shortly after the Deadass mixtape was released, the Lil Squeaky character “died.”  This is because Ailus didn’t feel any motivation to make music, so he killed off the character of Lil Squeaky. However, at the end of the year, he decided to revive the character and continue making music.

On February 10, 2019, Squeaky released his most recent mixtape Jews in the Ghetto, vol. 2.  Later that month he released the double-single Spooky Hours, which featured the two lead singles for his upcoming debut album. His first studio album, Professional Murderer, was released on April 9, 2019, and was intended to be a very loud, experimental album. The album garnered mixed reviews, with many listeners enjoying the album’s absurdity and Squeaky’s brand of satire, while others criticized how distorted and abrasive the album’s sound was. Squeaky went on hiatus after this, and released two singles in May 2019 under the moniker XXX Biggie T. The Soundcloud account he used for those songs would later become his second account for his Lil Squeaky music.

Squeaky was signed to Flex Entertainment on October 31, 2019, and released his first single under the label, “Menace,” featuring Lil Mosquito Disease and Big Lil, in November. Squeaky gained a much greater following after releasing the song, and it peaked at number 51 on the Flex Entertainment Hot 100, long after its initial release and peak popularity. Squeaky’s follow-up single “Menace 2,” featuring Lil Mosquito Disease, Big Lil, and beetlebat, was released late in November, and peaked at number 67. "Menace 2" became Squeaky's first song to reach 1,000 plays on Spotify.

In 2020, Squeaky’s first release was the single “Ok,” and shortly after announced that he was working on his second studio album Menace 2 Society. The album was intended to be a "meme rap version of Travis Scott's Rodeo album." However, he would later announce that the entire album was scrapped and he would instead attempt to make an album that people would listen to unironically in their free time while still including lyrics that could make people laugh. He does plan on eventually releasing the scrapped songs. To entertain fans before he album would be released, he released two projects: a live compilation album, Squeaky Sings the Classics, released on April 10 on SoundCloud and YouTube, and the EP Squeaky 4 President, released on SoundCloud and YouTube on April 17 and onto streaming services on April 31. The EP was met with generally positive reviews, with many listeners finding the songs catchy, though others disliked the poor mastering and the very questionable lyrics. The EP spawned Squeaky’s first top ten hit, “Nipples,” which peaked at number 7 on the Flex Entertainment Hot 100. Thanks to this EP and especially the success of "Nipples," Squeaky gained a larger and more dedicated following.

Squeaky became an administrator for Flex Entertainment on June 29, 2020, after administrator Yung Garfield left the label; however, Garfield re-signed to the label on July 3 and would become an administrator again alongside Squeaky. Squeaky announced in June that he changed the title of his second studio album to God Mode.  The album’s lead single “Rollercoaster” was released on July 3, 2020 and peaked at number 28 on the Flex Entertainment Hot 100. On that same day, Squeaky appeared on three songs on the Flex Gang, vol. 2 compilation album: His own songs, “Moonshine” featuring Lil Toy Yoda and Lil Joof, and “Nipples 2” featuring Big Baller B, Lil Mosquito Disease, Lil Toy Yoda, Lil Joof, and Yung Lambo; and as a featured artist on Yung Garfield’s song “New Beans” featuring Lil Squeaky and John. On the Hot 100, Moonshine peaked at number 24 and New Beans at 27.

Squeaky released his second studio album God Mode on July 24, 2020. The album was met with very positive reviews, becoming the highest rated Flex Entertainment album on the album reviewing site AlbumOfTheYear at the time. Many listeners and critics praised the more polished sound and improved mixing and mastering, as well as Squeaky's infectious flows and vocal performances and often funny lyrics. Some critics disliked some of the lyrics and mixing, but the majority of listeners gave the album very positive feedback. The album's reputation has improved over time, with many considering it a classic in Squeaky's discography and in the Flex Entertainment catalog. Numerous songs off the album have surpassed 1,000 plays on Spotify, with the most popular song, "Crocs on my Feet," spawning a TikTok challenge in which people show off their diamond-plated and designer Crocs shoes while the song plays in the background.

Squeaky released a number on non-album singles in the latter half of 2020, including "Blockbuster" featuring Young Seagull, "Menace 3," the highly anticipated sequel to Menace and Menace 2, and "Molestor Moon" with Lil Mosquito Disease, Yung Lambo, Yung Garfield, .jitters, Cedric, and Lil Nav. He then announced his fourth mixtape, and his first since Jews in the Ghetto, vol. 2, Squeaky 4 President 2: The Re-Election. The mixtape was preceded by the lead single, "Squeaky Claus," which was a Christmas song. The song was met with very negative reception, with many fans wondering where the Lil Squeaky they knew and loved from God Mode went. Squeaky 4 President 2 was released on December 4, 2020, and was met with mixed reviews upon release. Many listeners and critics stated that while the album was fun to listen to, the majority of the songs were rather forgettable, and not nearly as enjoyable as the more focused material found on God Mode. Since its release, however, the mixtape's reception has vastly improved, with many fans regarding it as a sleeper hit and one Squeaky's better projects.

Squeaky has worked on other Flex artists' albums as well, starting with his role as "creative director" of Yung Garfield's debut album BOMBOCLAAT. Squeaky helped out a lot with samples and telling Garfield what to do for a certain song's production or lyrical topic. He also taught Garfield how to "produce in Audacity," a style of production that Garfield has stuck to ever since and has brought him great success. In addition, Squeaky was the sound engineer for Yung Lambo's debut album Lambo Season. He was also featured on multiple songs on each of these albums. He has featured on many large collaboration songs with several artists including "MOLESTER MOON" and "Side Effects Remix".

Lil Squeaky stepped down as exec on February 23, 2021. He stated the position brought a lot of unexpected stress, and he wanted to return to treating Flex more casually and distantly like he had done before becoming admin or exec. He also felt that he had become somewhat "addicted" to Flex, and taking breaks and leaving the server didn't help much, so leaving his position of power he felt was the best move to relieve his stress.

Squeaky has also announced a multi-genre album, initially titled FAIR LAKES PLAZA. The working title was then changed to Squeaky, and then to Fever Dreams, and then to Purity, before Squeaky announced that the album had no title. In February 2021, he formally announced the album, titled In Development, set to release on March 26, 2021. The album's tracklist was revealed on March 19.

On March 26, Squeaky released his third studio album In Development with features from Young Seagull, 2Maajor, Kid Floral, Lil Mosquito Disease, Lil Flexer and White Fury. The album was met with varied reception with some saying it was the best Flex Entertainment release ever with its more "serious" sounding approach, focused lyrical themes, and genre experimentation, while others criticized it for its more serious approach and subject matters which came across as corny to some, and many consider it one of Squeaky's most polarizing releases. He dropped another single "The Years Untouched" a few weeks after the album, featuring production from Shrekneck and the late Cedric. The single featured deep inspirational lyrics about how DJ Khaled taught Lil Squeaky to always win and take Ws.

Squeaky left the label in April 2021, keeping his reasons for leaving mostly ambiguous. After leaving he joined the small label and boy band juicyFlail, a decision met with much scrutiny by Flex members. In this new group, Squeaky released the triple-single Spooky Hours 2, a sequel to his Spooky Hours double-single from 2019. The tracks were originally intended to appear on the mixtape JEWS IN THE GHETTO, VOL. 3, which ended up being postponed indefinitely. The triple-single was met with mixed to negative reception, with listeners calling the songs boring and generic, and featuring none of Squeaky's typical energy or passion. The triple-single was so hated by some that observers and fans predicted that Squeaky might fall off soon.

Squeaky would go on to release the single "BITCHES ON ME," featuring Lil $teeve, Lil Quick & his old persona XXX Biggie T, in June. The single was met with negative reception as it came across as "trying too hard" by many of his hardcore fans. The song would later be considered a flop and was no longer praised. Squeaky released two more singles soon after: "CHECK" featuring Lil Mosquito Disease, and "WAY2GO" featuring CRZFawkz, both of which were well-received by fans and helped restore Squeaky's good will.

Amidst the releases of these singles, Squeaky announced his fourth studio album SITUATION, initially slated for release on July 23, 2021, a year after God Mode. However, Squeaky failed to release the album on that day, saying it wasn't done yet. This was actually the 2nd time Lil Squeaky and Kanye West had slated albums for release on the same day, with God Mode coming out on the day that West's album Donda: With Child was supposed to release, and both SITUATION and Donda not releasing on July 23, 2021. SITUATION released on September 3, 2021, to generally positive reception with some fans seeing it as a return to form after the polarizing In Development. The album saw Squeaky drawing heavy influence from Memphis phonk music and underground hip-hop, as well as other styles like pop-punk and cloud rap.  The album's production and energy were praised however it was criticized for its length, feature choices and lack of variety musically.

Since Situation, Squeaky has dropped two EPs. The first was "NARCISSIST / Kanye Pooh" which was a speedrun mixtape that was met with harsh reception from fans and critics alike. The second was "Days Before Menace 2 Society" which was a compilation EP of old Squeaky leaks released onto Spotify including infamous tracks like "Hurt You" and "Adlibs (Interude)". Squeaky also twice attempted to release his leaked Menace 2 Society compilation onto streaming services with extra unreleased tracks, but it was rejected by Distrokid both times, first for the sample on "Mambo No. 69," and again for the inappropriate title of "Never Really Happened (Holocaust)".

Lil Squeaky signed back to Flex Entertainment in January 2022 to the surprise of many, with no prior announcement. He then announced a new double-single, "THE RETURN / PETER PAN."

Although being technically too young to run for president, Lil Squeaky has stated that he will be running for president in 2024.

Controversies
Lil Squeaky was considered one of the most controversial artists in Flex Entertainment, sporting a brash and often harsh sense of humor and a willingness to express highly unpopular opinions and beliefs.

Throughout 2018, Lil Squeaky was in a short lived rap beef with rapper "Lil Crisp" better known by his real name Bivash which resulted in the song "Fake Lil Squeaky". The rap beef was revisited in late 2020 once various Flex Entertainment artists found out about it.

In late 2020, Squeaky generated backlash from members of his label when he began to repeatedly shout out Trap Lore Records, a label founded by YouTuber Trap Lore Ross. Many members of Flex began to fear that Squeaky would leave Flex to join Trap Lore Records, claims which Squeaky doubled down on by saying he would. This led to executive Yung Garfield enacting a strict ban on mentioning Trap Lore Records.

The following winter, Squeaky entered a beef with Yung Garfield, after Squeaky opposed Yung Garfield becoming an executive again immediately after signing back. Squeaky also dissed Garfield by saying he fell off. This resulted in Garfield having a meltdown in Flex's discord server and calling Lil Squeaky a bitch, before leaving the label and server. When Garfield signed back several months later, he immediately became an executive again. Squeaky has sported a variety of hairstyles during his time in Flex, many of which have been the subject of scrutiny. Upon joining, he sported a short forwards quiff hairstyle, which many described as looking like a sponge or a paintbrush. In 2020, he grew his hair out longer, adopted a medium-length sideswept look. He donned blonde highlights in the spring of 2020, which he was teased for by some. In summer, he cut his hair short again, sporting a side-parted quiff hairstyle that was mostly received favorably. In December 2020, a selfie he took after receiving a haircut went viral, with many stating that his hairline looked messed up and that he looked like an egg. His unstyled hair has been compared to that of Canadian rapper Nav. Similarly, Squeaky's fashion sense has been teased by some, as he tends to wear smart casual to formal clothing. In spring and summer 2020, he very frequently wore floral shirts, which were complimented by some and scrutinized by others. His overcoats and assortment of jackets have suffered similar fates, most notably an infamous picture of Squeaky wearing a blue and white flower-patterned suit for his senior prom.

Trivia

 * Lil Squeaky's verse on his song "XEXE" is potentially the fastest verse ever rapped by a Flex Entertainment artist.
 * Many of Squeaky's older songs on Soundcloud have been recently gaining traction and have become sleeper hits. Some notable examples are "MANNY", "Oolin", "XEXE", "Arms Race", "Cclapped" and most notably "b r o k e n h e a r t e d" which even received a remix in September 2020 with popular Flex Entertainment artist Big Baller B.
 * His older SoundCloud projects have also gained traction in recent years, most notably "Professional Murderer" and "SQUEAKERTON: The Chronicle".
 * He had the most XP in the Flex Entertainment Discord Server for a very long time before being surpassed by Yung Lambo.
 * He is one of 2 Flex Entertainment members to have released a live album, the other being CRZFawkz.
 * He is one of two Flex Entertainment artists to have an entire "project" of theirs leaked with the compilation "Menace 2 Society" being leaked by allegedly Fastoosh Kaloosh on FLEX LEAKS. The other artist to have had a project leaked is Lil Toy Yoda.
 * Lil Squeaky has two song trilogies as of 2021. The Menace trilogy and the Nipples trilogy.
 * Lil Squeaky is well known for being a "creative director" or executive producer for various Flex artists' projects. Well known examples include his work on BOMBOCLAAT and Lambo Season.

Albums

 * Professional Murderer  (2019)
 * God Mode (2020)
 * In Development (2021)
 * SITUATION (2021)

Mixtapes

 * Squeakerton: The Chronicle (2018)
 * Deadass: Ricky's Last Stand (2018)
 * Jews in the Ghetto, Vol. 2 (2019)
 * SQUEAKY 4 PRESIDENT 2 - THE RE-ELECTION (2020)

EPs

 * Jews in the Ghetto, Vol. 1 (2018)
 * SPOOKY HOURS (2019)
 * Squeaky 4 President (2020)
 * SPOOKY HOURS 2 (2021)
 * NARCISSIST / Kanye Pooh (2021)

Live Albums

 * Squeaky Sings the Classics (2020)

Compilations

 * Menace 2 Society (2020) [Leaked by Fastoosh]
 * Days Before Menace 2 Society EP (2021)